God Speaks to You in the Liturgy of the Word
The second part of the Holy Mass, or the Liturgy of the Word, consists of: readings taken from the Holy Scriptures, homily, confession of faith and calls to the Universal Prayer. Christianity is the religion of the Word, the Incarnate Word - Jesus Christ. Therefore, for our spirituality, words derived from the Bible, both from the Old and New Testaments, are important. The whole teaching of faith, all sacraments are immersed in the Bible, there is its source, origin and power. The celebration of each of the sacraments provides the liturgy of the word. Through Bible reading, God speaks to man, giving him eternal truths about salvation, dressed in the verbal form of the time in which these words were written.
The arrangement of readings for Sunday and solemnity provides a triple set of readings: the first is usually taken from the books of the Old Testament, the second from the New, and the peak of the liturgy of the word is the Gospel. The first two readings should be made by a lector, the Gospel reading is reserved for a deacon or priest. Respect for the Gospel, motivated by the fact that Christ Himself speaks in it, is shown by special signs of worship - through additional gestures, attitudes and words. We listen to the Gospel standing up. The reading of the Gospel is preceded by a reminder that "the Lord is with you", that is, Christ himself, present in his word, speaks to us. On the solemn days, this Christ presence is emphasized by the rite of incense of the book of the Gospels. The Book of Gospels is moved to the pulpit sometimes processional, accompanied by candles, i.e. to the table of the Word of God. If a bishop presides over the Eucharistic liturgy, he can, in the custom of the patriarchs of the Eastern Churches, bless the liturgical assembly with the Book of Gospel.
Tracking the layout of Sunday readings, we will notice that their selection is not accidental. Of course, it is easiest to recognize this by the content related to the life of Christ himself, when, in accordance with the rhythm of the liturgical year, we hear the gospel pericopes describing the fact of Christmas, Resurrection or Ascension.
The harmonization of biblical readings taken from the Old Testament in relation to the Gospel texts is especially evident when the first reading speaks, for example, of manna in the desert, and the second reads about the multiplication of bread by Christ or when we first hear the description of the Jewish Easter feast, and then about Christ's establishment the Eucharist after this feast, etc.
A different kind of consonance with the texts of the Old and New Testaments will be seen in the description of the expulsion of lepers (1st reading) and the scene of healing the leper by Christ (2nd reading), etc.
The most important harmonization of readings are presented by the pericopes which promise the fulfillment of prophecies from the Old Testament in the person of Jesus Christ, e.g. the vision of the prophet Daniel announcing the coming of the "Son of Man". And with this very term - as we hear in the Gospel – Christ defined himself.
“The richness of Biblical Readings forces us to listen to them carefully.
Not a lector or priest, but God is talking to me!”
Until Tomorrow
fr. george